“Don’t hear more chaos in Colombia”: Duque responds to Petro’s trill on the usefulness of vaccines

The President of Colombia, Iván Duque, joined the controversy sparked this Friday, July 30 by Senator Gustavo Petro, who turned to Twitter in the morning to declare that “Vaccines are useless for covid-delta virus, early research shows”. This, accompanied by an article speaks of the high transmissibility of this variant of the disease, but not of its relation to the formulas that seek to combat it.

The publication, which provoked outrage and all kinds of corrections from other members of the government, elicited an indirect response from the country’s first president, who from an event in Cartagena, emphasized the importance of getting the vaccine and ignoring voices that try to confuse and undermine the vaccination program which is taking place throughout the national territory.

“Getting vaccinated is everyone’s duty. The vaccination will come and will continue to be free so that everyone is protected. And let it be clear to those voices out there – who insinuate citizens not to get vaccinated, that the vaccine is useless – that they don’t intend to wreak more havoc in Colombia. Colombia needs more vaccination and we are all going to get vaccinated because it is the duty of our country ”, warned the president.

In the same intervention, Duque insisted on the need to generate a digital passport for all those who have immunity against covid-19: “Vaccination will require technology because when everyone has their passport, their certificate, it’s also online and they will be able to consult it from anywhere, “he warned.

Like the president, many government officials reacted to Petro’s statements, calling them false. Among these, perhaps the most important is that of the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Fernando Ruiz, who said that “The good news. Colombia has been consistent in its health policy: 1. We have kept our distance (use of masks, hand washing, protocols) 2. We are advancing in adherence vaccination (25 years +) with high coverage and 3. We communicate the risk without generating panic ”.

In a sense, Julián Fernández Niño, director of epidemiology at the Ministry of Health, spoke up, who replied that the trite of Petro is “Wrong! There is evidence from several countries that while vaccines can reduce their effectiveness, it is still very effective in preventing serious illnesses during the Delta wave. Delta is especially a pandemic among my vaccinees. It hurts to misinform. It is to be irresponsible ”.

Then there is María Paula Correa, Iván Duque’s chief of staff, who called the opposition leader “IRRESPONSIBLE! Public health is not a subject of speculation. The National Vaccination Plan is moving forward in an agile manner and the positive effects of vaccination are scientifically proven. Don’t try to create chaos! “.

Finally, there is Víctor Muñoz, director of the administrative department of the Presidency of the Republic, who did not hesitate to accuse Petro of trying to prevent people from getting vaccinated. “It is an absolute irresponsibility to generate alarms on the effectiveness of vaccines in the face of the delta variable. What is the senator looking for? That people are not getting vaccinated? The impact and benefits of vaccination are clear in preventing hospitalizations and deaths ”, the official trills.

The former presidential candidate was also denied by other experts such as epidemiologist Zulma Cucunubá, who explained that, “It is not true that vaccines no longer work against this variant. But it is a variant with relevant implications for public health. I will summarize what is known and why vaccination is vital at the moment ”, he said, starting a thread with some information about the topic.

In it, the expert commented that it is much more transmissible than other forms of the virus and that a herd immunity of 70%, in this case, would be insufficient. On the effectiveness of vaccines, Cucunubá speaks of a partial reduction.

Petro’s trill caused so much commotion throughout this Friday that even Twitter had to take action and mark it with the following phrase: This Tweet is misleading. Find out why health officials recommend a vaccine for most people. “

KEEP READING: